Anonymous
10/15/2025 17:46
Subject: Another Cornell death this fall
Anonymous wrote:Gray climate
Years of parental pressure surrounding academics
Bipolar and schizophrenia first show up at these ages and both are linked to suicides.
The "Gray climate" doesn't push normal people over the edge. kids at high pressure schools that get sun also end their life via suicide. IT's more the last two points. With the parental pressure being the biggest
Anonymous
10/15/2025 17:45
Subject: Another Cornell death this fall
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP. My kid is a sophomore. It’s not faux outrage. My kid just left home this afternoon to go back.
I’m Worried given my kid is stressed about a class.
Median grade in a stem bio prelim was a 69. Just fyi. The median for some of the stem classes is just crazy. Has As in 2 Econ classes so it’s not that.
Yes engineering/STEM classes are brutal, always have been. I can recall (at a T10 school) having a calculus course (calc 4 so not freshman) where the average was 18% (yes you read that right). Top score on a midterm (30 students) was 36, someone else had a 32 and then it dropped to 25 and on the way down. I had a 31 and got an A in the course. But it was frustrating to attend class, study and do the work and sit in a midterm and literally have no clue what you were doing and wheterh you were goign to pass or fail. And I was "at the top of the class", so I have to imagine the stressors for those with 12/15% in the course felt like.
Are these holistic admits that don't understand simple scaling? Why does it matter what the score is if there's a curve? Does a 55 F feel better than a 12 F? Anyone failing a class probably shouldn't be at that school to begin with.
Umm...in the above example the 36 became the "100%" and the curve/grading went from there. the 18% ended up being a B or B- range. So sure you know it will be curved, but it's beyond frustrating to take exams where you have no clue how you did, despite being very prepared.
When the average is an 18%, that shows the prof either didn't teach the material or has created an exam that is not testing anything related to what was taught in the course.
Anonymous
10/15/2025 17:42
Subject: Another Cornell death this fall
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP. My kid is a sophomore. It’s not faux outrage. My kid just left home this afternoon to go back.
I’m Worried given my kid is stressed about a class.
Median grade in a stem bio prelim was a 69. Just fyi. The median for some of the stem classes is just crazy. Has As in 2 Econ classes so it’s not that.
Yes engineering/STEM classes are brutal, always have been. I can recall (at a T10 school) having a calculus course (calc 4 so not freshman) where the average was 18% (yes you read that right). Top score on a midterm (30 students) was 36, someone else had a 32 and then it dropped to 25 and on the way down. I had a 31 and got an A in the course. But it was frustrating to attend class, study and do the work and sit in a midterm and literally have no clue what you were doing and wheterh you were goign to pass or fail. And I was "at the top of the class", so I have to imagine the stressors for those with 12/15% in the course felt like.
This is not limited to Cornell. Many top schools have median scores or 30-70% out of 100 based on some professors enjoying giving a very challeng ing test, but then they curve that median grade to a B or B+ at Cornell, or a B+ or even and A- at other schools. Many freshman do not understand how college grading works. Below the median often still earns a B- or even a B. As another posted, the median in humanities courses at Cornell is A-. It is not accurate to blame Cornell grading for a mental health tragedy. There was a recent year where NCState had 5 suicides in a few months. This happens everywhere, most unfortunately. It is a mental health crisis with this age group.
oh I understood how college grading worked. But it's still incredibly defeating and frustrating to study/go to office hours and TA hours/be as prepared as you can be and sit thru an exam and literally think "well I could end up with an F or I could have the best score in the class, I literally have no clue which". That is not testing knowledge or learning at all, but many STEM profs are known for doing this (back then and still)
I was ultimately a 3.9+ GPA in college with an engineering and Music performance double major (almost 6.5 years worth of courses crammed into 5 years, so tons of overloading and two very time consuming majors). Yet the 3-4 times I sat thru courses like this it was mentally frustrating. Sure I got an A or A-, but it's extremely frustrating. So it's easy to see in today's environment of push push push the kids have been in for 10+ years already, to have a course like that could send someone over the edge.
Anonymous
10/15/2025 17:15
Subject: Another Cornell death this fall
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP. My kid is a sophomore. It’s not faux outrage. My kid just left home this afternoon to go back.
I’m Worried given my kid is stressed about a class.
Median grade in a stem bio prelim was a 69. Just fyi. The median for some of the stem classes is just crazy. Has As in 2 Econ classes so it’s not that.
Yes engineering/STEM classes are brutal, always have been. I can recall (at a T10 school) having a calculus course (calc 4 so not freshman) where the average was 18% (yes you read that right). Top score on a midterm (30 students) was 36, someone else had a 32 and then it dropped to 25 and on the way down. I had a 31 and got an A in the course. But it was frustrating to attend class, study and do the work and sit in a midterm and literally have no clue what you were doing and wheterh you were goign to pass or fail. And I was "at the top of the class", so I have to imagine the stressors for those with 12/15% in the course felt like.
Depression doesn't care what school you go to.
💯
Anonymous
10/15/2025 13:49
Subject: Another Cornell death this fall
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:I’m the OP. My kid is a sophomore. It’s not faux outrage. My kid just left home this afternoon to go back.
I’m Worried given my kid is stressed about a class.
Median grade in a stem bio prelim was a 69. Just fyi. The median for some of the stem classes is just crazy. Has As in 2 Econ classes so it’s not that.
Yes engineering/STEM classes are brutal, always have been. I can recall (at a T10 school) having a calculus course (calc 4 so not freshman) where the average was 18% (yes you read that right). Top score on a midterm (30 students) was 36, someone else had a 32 and then it dropped to 25 and on the way down. I had a 31 and got an A in the course. But it was frustrating to attend class, study and do the work and sit in a midterm and literally have no clue what you were doing and wheterh you were goign to pass or fail. And I was "at the top of the class", so I have to imagine the stressors for those with 12/15% in the course felt like.
Well, it seems this kid grew up in New England, went to an elite boarding school, and was a history major. So weather, academic pressure, and difficult major - like engineering - aren't the issues here. Despair can hit anyone. Awful situation. But I don't think this was somehow caused by anything intrinsic to Cornell.
I can recall a suicide at my college. It didn't make national news. Depression doesn't care what school you go to.
Anonymous
10/15/2025 13:24
Subject: Another Cornell death this fall
Entry to an elite college does not erase the baggage you arrive with. In fact, it usually intensifies by being in a competitive environment with other equally high performing students and competing with each other for clubs, internships, grad school, sports.
Hug your kids. Don't put undo pressure on them or push them to enter high pressure enviros unless you know they can handle it. Don't assume they will if you've seen cracks in high school - depression, anxiety, addictive behavior, unhealthy coping, eating disorders, shame, anger issues, masking.
Hug your kids. Don't put undo pressure on them or push them to enter high pressure enviros unless you know they can handle it. Don't assume they will if you've seen cracks in high school - depression, anxiety, addictive behavior, unhealthy coping, eating disorders, shame, anger issues, masking.
100%. I love this insight and - so important to remember this before it's too late!
Brilliant and true.